Catalog sales are different from store sales, said Megan Weber, corporate retail buyer for Ritz-Carlton. ''We sell more bedding, robes and glassware on the Web, and things with more of a boutique feel in the shops, Links of London Jewellery like handbags, impulse jewelry and Lady Lanelle crystal studded flip-flops,'' she said.
Retailing makes good sense for upscale hotels, if done with restraint and good taste, said Richard Brush, dean of the Hospitality College at Johnson & Wales University in Providence, R.I. ''It's like hitting a double: you extend the brand and gain extra revenue,'' he said.
Hoteliers think theirs is an ideal environment to coax sales. ''Say you're the guest,'' said James Blauvelt, executive director of catering at the Waldorf. ''You're sitting in bed in the lap of luxury and you're really comfortable with a 15-foot ceiling and Park Avenue views Links of London Earrings, and you want to take a little piece of that home.''
Though the hotels clearly want to make a profit, most view retailing primarily as a way to help promote their brand. ''What I hope is someone will see our silver tissue-box cover or crystal soap dish in someone's guest bathroom and think, 'I want to stay there when I go to New York,''' Mr. Blauvelt said.
Toward that end, the hotels have designed their Web sites and brochures with care. The Waldorf punctuates its catalog and Web site with recipes for house specialties, like Waldorf salad and bread pudding. And each item offered from the W comes with a sassy description (Heart Charm).
Souped-up hotel retailing is sufficiently new that marketers are still experimenting. The W discovered sales are quickest when several similar things are grouped together. ''When we sold just one item for kids, it didn't move,'' Mr. Klein said. ''But when we began offering multiple items, like games and plush toys, things sold.''
